Why is it that archery is no more popular than it seems to be?

Question

Localy almost evry man thinks he's Robin Hood and a great number of womenfolks are into it too? There is a archery range here where people have to take turns on Sunday P.M. Other places I have ben no one seems to be intrested.

Answer 1

Well I have got to say, it isn't really a popular thing where I'm from, but people do still hunt with bows. I kind of see it as a more primitive satisfaction than some fancy mechanical weapon like a gun.

Answer 2

http://www.the-glens.org.uk/sports-clubs...

here is a link to my local club.

Field archery is a bit different but very popular.  We also have a local residential outdoor centre that teaches archery so it is popular here.

Answer 3

I think the fact that archery is not a mainstream sport in most places in the country, is due largely to the fact that so many people live in cities and suburbs. As someone has already pointed out, it requires lots of space.  

But is it rely a bad thing? I mean part of the allure of archery to me is the fact that it is a relatively uncommon sport, it allows for a more personal meditative experience. Not many people do it, and even fewer are any good.

Answer 4

I prefer things that go BOOM!

To each his own, I guess.

I have seen some heavily decked out bows for hunting, but fishing is my preferred sport, so I'd rather spend hundreds on that gear.

Answer 5

The only reason we see packed ranges is because there aren't that many ranges around to begin with.  Plus those that are around are usually rather small.

In the US for example, the NFAA has the largest number of members at around 30,000 and the NAA has around 3,500.  There are of course more archers than that, I've met other archers who've never heard of either organizations.  But my point is, it's really still a fringe sport, compared to the total population of the US, it's a miniscule number.

Back in the 20's, was the heyday of archery.  It was in most summer camps and even in schools.  Nowadays with the lawsuit happy society we have, I had ran into problems just trying to talk to the public school system about starting an archery program.  They wouldn't even consider it, due to the stigma of introducing a "weapon" to the students.

Now in Korea on the other hand, archery is as popular as baseball is to us.

Answer 6

Where I live archery and bowhunting are popular. It depends on the person and on the land. It is a personal preference.

Now for the land part. If you live out of town or have a lot of land it will be more fun (and legal).

Example: You can't shoot bows downtown or in a suburb (unless you have enough land at a suburb).